Research progress on regeneration and recycling technology of end-of-life membranes for water treatment

Abstract

Membrane separation technology is widely used in wastewater treatment, water reuse, seawater desalination, brackish water treatment and other fields, due to its advantages of high separation efficiency, no phase change and facile automation control. Under the guidance of the policy aiming at carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality, membrane-based wastewater treatment technology has to develop in the direction of sustainable development. It is of great environmental benefits to reuse and recycle end-of-life membranes, which enables the recycling of membranes or membrane components and reduces the waste of resources and environmental hazards resulting from landfill or incineration. This paper reviews various regeneration and recycling technology of end-of-life membranes. The recycling technology of membranes are classified into direct recycling technology and indirect recycling technology. Recent advances in the indirect recycling technology including downcycling of end-of-life high-pressure membranes, upcycling of end-of-life low-pressure membranes and recycling after treatment of end-of-life membranes are systematically summarized. The properties of the regenerated membranes based on water permeance and rejection rate are evaluated. Meanwhile, the recycling technology of end-of-life membrane components is briefly outlined. The future development directions of the recycling technology of end-of-life membranes are proposed.

Keywords

• water treatment
• end-of-life membranes
• regeneration and recycling technology
• water permeance
• rejection rate